


Descendants

by sterne



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Coercive Family Formation Policies, Infertility, M/M, Sperm Donation, the mcd is implied and not shown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterne/pseuds/sterne
Summary: For the Kylux Cantina Week 10 prompt:"First Order family-planning policies encourage fertility. The Order needs children."





	Descendants

The little cafe had a shady patio with a fountain; it looked so refreshing and pleasant that they decided to have lunch there despite the lackluster menu.  As they were shown to their table, Kylo noticed a red-haired boy, around eight years old, sitting at a table on the other side of the fountain.  

 

Red hair was rare enough (and by him, cherished enough) that it always caught his attention.  As he looked more closely, he was startled to discover that that boy looked quite like Hux.  Some sixth sense alerted the boy to this scrutiny and he turned to see who was looking at him.  His eyes landed on Kylo for a moment before sliding past him to Hux, who was already seated and immersed in something on his datapad.  The boy sat up straighter as his expression shifted from casual curiosity to recognition.  The excited exclamation “Mama, look, it’s  _ him _ !” was audible over the plash of the fountain.  

 

_ Great, more devotees for the Cult of Hux _ , Kylo thought disgustedly (also fondly); perhaps Hux was paying less attention to his datapad than he let on, because he looked up, as if ready to bask in any adulation that might be on offer.  But Hux’s reaction when his gaze lit upon the little family was not the dignified and condescending preen Kylo had expected - instead, he was treated to the sight of a fascinating mix of pleased surprise and embarrassment on that pale face.  A shallow dip into Hux’s uppermost thoughts:  _...he must be one of mine!...Ren can’t... _

 

Kylo gripped the edge of the table tightly with the sudden understanding of what that boy was.  He could not keep the incredulity, or the hurt, out of his voice.  “Hux. Is that boy...your  _ child _ ?”

 

Hux’s eyes snapped to Kylo’s.  “Ren,” he said, low and teasing, “do you seriously think my cock has ever been up in anything other than an ass?  But you’re not entirely wrong.  I suspect he _ is  _ my child, technically.”  

 

He paused, eyes casting upward to access a memory.  “The posters used to be everywhere -  _ The First Order Needs Children _ , and even some older ones left over from the days of the Empire with the same basic message.  There was a great deal of pressure upon all of us, especially my generation...the expectation was that everyone would do their duty. Everyone.”

 

Kylo leaned forward.  “But, Hux.  You wouldn’t...couldn’t have…”

 

“Of course not!  Rank did have its privileges.” Hux said, with satisfaction.  “In lieu of marrying and starting my own family, I  was permitted to give, er, a genetic sample, for the benefit of infertile couples.”

 

“You were a sperm donor, you mean,” Kylo scoffed.  

 

“Yes, and are you suggesting there is something shameful in it?”

 

“No, it’s just.  Well, it’s strange to think that you have a child...children...how many children  _ do _ you have?”

 

“Ren.  _  I _ don’t have any children.  I haven’t inquired into this for some time, but to my knowledge there are perhaps twenty children who have my genetic material.  That boy must be among the oldest.”

 

Just then, the server came to take their order and the conversation turned to other topics.

 

\---------------

 

His awareness floats among the crowd of beings all passing, as he is, through the large spaceport.  A familiar thought-signature catches and pulls at him.  So familiar.  His eyes find the person whose mental architecture this is...blue-green eyes meet his for a second, their exact shade giving him a jolt.  But the woman, in her thirties, has disappointingly brown hair.  They each continue on their way, although he yearns to follow her just to be near her mind for a while.  It has been so long, so long without that solace.

 

Ben has encountered a handful, maybe a dozen, of these children of Hux’s since the war ended.  Only two with red-gold hair.  Four with green eyes.  Most with his height and build.  One that he saw on Kuat a few years ago looked even more like Hux than the boy in cafe had, and was an engineer as well.  Some have had Hux’s nose, or cheeks, or voice.  

 

These few echoes and scattered reflections, spread across the galaxy and only experienced in fleeting moments at random - these are all that is left, because the First Order needed children.


End file.
